dispute with them the possession of the vast region which they claimed as their own.

But the interior of the country was an unknown world. Traders and missionaries like Menard, Marquette and Hennepin had told of the natives who lived beyond the great lakes, and far distant great rivers, and the wealth of the country. Talon availed himself of all the means at his disposal to obtain his end. Jesuits, officers, fur traders and enterprising schemers all were called to work for their king and extend the boundaries of his domain.

In 1670, he ordered Dumont De Saint-Lusson and La Salle to prepare themselves for the discoveries. The first was to search for copper mines on Lake Superior, and at the same time to take personal possession of the whole interior for the king. Saint-Lusson set out with a small party of men and Nicholaus Perrot as his interpreter. On the morning of the 16th of June, 1671, he led his followers, fifteen in number, all fully equipped and armed, to the top of the hill close to Sault St. Marie, a village of the Santeurs. Here, too, in the vestments of their priestly office were found the following Jesuit Fathers: Claude Dallon, Superior of the Mission of the Lakes, Gabriel Denillets, Claude Allonez and Louis Andre.

All around the great throng of Indians, who had gathered from far and near,- Crees, Monsonis, Arrikarees and Nipissings stood, crouched, or reclined at length with eyes and ears intent. A large cross of wood had been made ready. Dallon in solemn form pronounced his blessing on it, and then it was reared and planted in the ground, while the Frenchmen, uncovered, sang the Vexilla Regis. Then a post of cedar was planted beside it with a metal plate attached, engraven with the royal arms. While SaintLusson's followers sang the Exaudiat one of the Jesuits said a prayer for the king.

Saint-Lusson now advanced and, holding his sword in one hand and raising with the other a sod of earth, proclaimed in a loud voice: "In the name of the most high, mighty and redoubted Monarch, Louis Fourteenth of that name, most

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Christian king of France and of Navarre, I take possession of this place, Sainte Marie du Sault, as also of Lakes Huron and Superior, the Island of Manatonlin, and all

countries, rivers, lakes and streams, continuous and adjacent thereunto, both which have been discovered and those which may be discovered hereafter, in all their length and

breadth, bounded on the one side by the seas of the north and of the west, and on the other by the South Sea, declaring to the natives thereof that from this time forth they are vassals of His Majesty, bound to obey his law and follow his customs, promising them on his part all succor and protection against the incursions and invasions of their enemies, declaring to all other potentates, princes, States and republics to them and to their subjects that they cannot and are not to seize and settle upon any part of the aforesaid countries save under the good pleasure of His Most Christian Majesty and of him who will govern on his behalf; and this on pain of incurring his resentment and the efforts of his arms. Vive le Roi!"

La Salle after various vicissitudes reached the mouth of the Mississippi early in 1682. A short distance above the mouth of the river a column was erected bearing the arms of France, and inscribed with the following words: "Louis Le Grand, Roi de France et de Navarre, Reign; Le Neuvieme Avril, 1682."

His companions were mustered under arms, and while the Indians and their squaws looked on in wondering silence, they chanted the Te Deum, the Exaudiat, and the Domine Saloum fac Regem. Then amid volleys of musketry and shouts of "Vive le Roi," La Salle planted the column in its place, and standing near it proclaimed in a loud voice: In the name of the most high, mighty, invincible, and victorious Prince, Louis the Great, by the grace of God, King of France and Navarre, Fourteenth of that name, this ninth day of April, one thousand, six hundred and eighty-two, in virtue of the commission of his Majesty, which I hold in my hand, and which may be seen by all whom it may concern, have taken and do now take in the name of his Majesty and of his successors to the crown, possession of this country of Louisiana, the seas, harbors, ports, bays, adjacent straits, and all the nations, peoples, provinces, cities, towns, villages, mines, minerals, fisheries, streams and rivers within the extent of the said Louisiana, from the mouth of the great river St. Louis, on

the eastern side, otherwise called the Ohio, Alighinsipon [Alleghany] or Chickagona, and this with the consent of the Chonanons, Chicadras and other people dwelling therein, with whom we have made alliance; as also along the river Colbert or Mississippi and the rivers which discharge themselves thereinto from its source; beyond the country of the Kions Nadonessioux [Sioux] and this with their consent, and with the consent of the Motantees, Illinois, Merigamias, Arkansas, Natchez and Koroaz, which are the most considerable natives dwelling therein, with whom we have also made alliance either by ourselves or by others in our behalf, as far as its mouth to the Sea or Gulf of Mexico about 27 degrees of the elevation of the North Pole, and also to the mouth of the river of Palms, upon the assurance we have had from the natives of these countries, that we were the first Europeans who have descended or ascended the said river Colbert [Mississippi], hereby protesting against all who may hereafter undertake to invade any or all of these aforesaid countries, peoples or lands to the prejudice of the rights of his Majesty, acquired by the consent of the natives dwelling herein. Of which and of all else that is needful, I hereby take to witness those who hear me and demand an act of the Notary here present.'

Shouts of Vive le Roi and volleys of musketry responded to his words. Then a cross was planted beside the column and a leaden plate buried near it, bearing the arms of France with a Latin inscription:

"Ludovicus Magnus regnat."

The weather-beaten voyageurs joined their voices in the grand hymn of the Vexilla Regis:

"The banners of Heaven's king advances.

The mystery of the Cross shines forth."

A map was prepared by Franquelin of the country thus claimed, which is still preserved at the Depot des Cartines of the Marine at Paris. The boundaries are laid down as

follows: Running along the southern shore of Lake Erie, thence following the heads of the streams that flow into Lake Michigan, it then turns northwest and is lost in what is now Manitoba. On the south the line is drawn by the heads of the streams flowing into the Gulf of Mexico as far west as Mobile after which it follows the shore of the Gulf to a little south of Rio Grande, then runs west, northwest and finally north along the range of the Rocky Mountains as far north as the fifty-second degree of northern latitude and is lost in what is now British Columbia.

CHAPTER IX.

FRENCH MISSIONARY EXPLOITS.

Father Rene Menard, born in 1604, had been in France confessor to Madame Daillebout, one of the founders of Montreal. He came to Canada in the "Esperance," which sailed from Dieppe on the 26th of March, 1640, and after having been compelled to put back by storms, reached Quebec in July. After being director of the Ursulines he was sent to the Huron country, and succeeded Ray mbaut as missionary of the Algonquins, Nippisings and Atontratas.

On the fall of the Hurons he was stationed at Three Rivers till he was sent to Onondaga among the Iroquois. After the close of St. Mary's at Ganentaa he was again at Three Rivers. His head was whitened with years, his face scarred with wounds, received on the streets of Cayuga, for he had been one of the first to bear the faith into Central New York. Thoroughly inured to Indian life, with many a dialect of Huron and Algonquin at his command, he sought to die as many of his carlier friends and comrades had long since done.

The West seemed a promised land to be reached only through the Red Sea of his own blood, and with joy he